OUR VIEW: No new Southside bridge in forseeable future

Published: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 6:46 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, August 20, 2012 at 6:47 p.m.

Over time, there have been numerous meetings and lots of talk about a new bridge over the Coosa River on Alabama Highway 77 headed north from Southside. They may not have been a waste of time, but they have not paid off.

John Cooper, director of the state Department of Transportation, last week said such a bridge isn’t in the DOT’s five-year plan. Translation, based on past history: “It ain’t happening any time soon.”

A bridge to replace the one used by northbound traffic, which was built in 1938 (as a reference point, Franklin D. Roosevelt was in his second term as president), would cost between $16 million and $20 million.

That money wasn’t in this year’s federal highway bill. Given that Congress is in the middle of a two-year moratorium on earmarks — members sneaking things into the fine print of bills to help the home folks — and future federal highway funding is expected to be flat, the chances of a quick change there are nonexistent.

There’s no state money, either. Cooper said the DOT is barely keeping its nostrils above water in simply maintaining Alabama’s roads and bridges, let alone improving or upgrading them. (How many unmet transportation needs are there in Alabama? Try $6 billion worth.)

Gasoline taxes, a key source of transportation funding, aren’t going to help, either, because of a perverse twist to something generally considered a positive. Automakers have pushed to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles, which means less gasoline is purchased, which means less money flows into the state and federal coffers.

Cooper described the Southside bridge, which now is only one lane — as incredible as it seems, it once was a two-way bridge and the only conduit over the Coosa at that point — as a “good bridge” structurally, even though it’s rated as “functionally obsolete.”

We’re sure drivers who have to pick their way across that bridge during peak traffic hours would disagree, but there’s not much else Cooper could say. The money isn’t there.

Cooper’s candor in saying a new bridge isn’t happening also merits respect. Why build up false hopes with promises that can’t be backed up?

So, things will remain as-is, hopefully not for 74 more years.

And we’ll be interested in seeing if things change in Washington after the election, regardless of which party controls Congress.

Tea partiers made ending earmarks, which they view as wasteful and grist for corruption, a key part of their agenda, but there have been indications that tune may be changing.

It’s one thing to rail about pork. It’s another to seek re-election in districts where voters don’t view things that directly benefit them as having swinish qualities.

<p>Over time, there have been numerous meetings and lots of talk about a new bridge over the Coosa River on Alabama Highway 77 headed north from Southside. They may not have been a waste of time, but they have not paid off.</p><p>John Cooper, director of the state Department of Transportation, last week said such a bridge isn't in the DOT's five-year plan. Translation, based on past history: “It ain't happening any time soon.”</p><p>A bridge to replace the one used by northbound traffic, which was built in 1938 (as a reference point, Franklin D. Roosevelt was in his second term as president), would cost between $16 million and $20 million.</p><p>That money wasn't in this year's federal highway bill. Given that Congress is in the middle of a two-year moratorium on earmarks — members sneaking things into the fine print of bills to help the home folks — and future federal highway funding is expected to be flat, the chances of a quick change there are nonexistent.</p><p>There's no state money, either. Cooper said the DOT is barely keeping its nostrils above water in simply maintaining Alabama's roads and bridges, let alone improving or upgrading them. (How many unmet transportation needs are there in Alabama? Try $6 billion worth.)</p><p>Gasoline taxes, a key source of transportation funding, aren't going to help, either, because of a perverse twist to something generally considered a positive. Automakers have pushed to develop more fuel-efficient vehicles, which means less gasoline is purchased, which means less money flows into the state and federal coffers.</p><p>Cooper described the Southside bridge, which now is only one lane — as incredible as it seems, it once was a two-way bridge and the only conduit over the Coosa at that point — as a “good bridge” structurally, even though it's rated as “functionally obsolete.”</p><p>We're sure drivers who have to pick their way across that bridge during peak traffic hours would disagree, but there's not much else Cooper could say. The money isn't there.</p><p>Cooper's candor in saying a new bridge isn't happening also merits respect. Why build up false hopes with promises that can't be backed up?</p><p>So, things will remain as-is, hopefully not for 74 more years.</p><p>And we'll be interested in seeing if things change in Washington after the election, regardless of which party controls Congress.</p><p>Tea partiers made ending earmarks, which they view as wasteful and grist for corruption, a key part of their agenda, but there have been indications that tune may be changing.</p><p>It's one thing to rail about pork. It's another to seek re-election in districts where voters don't view things that directly benefit them as having swinish qualities.</p>